First sold in 1875 and still available today, Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound was marketed as this.

Salad dressing

Non-alcoholic beverage

Rubbing alcohol

Cure-all medicine

Cure-all medicine, especially for women. In 19th-century America, women were reluctant to share their female health problems with a male doctor but felt comfortable with Pinkham’s product. Part of her company’s success was its department of advice. Women wrote to Mrs. Pinkham and her successors candidly about their health concerns and would always receive a response.

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